He didn't have home-court advantage, but he won.
Diehard Knicks fan Joseph DeSimone popped the question to his girlfriend Erica Fan on Kiss Cam in Oklahoma City when the Thunder faced off in an NBA intrasquad showdown last Friday.
The Lower East Side native took the bold step while in enemy territory — getting down on one knee at the Paycom Center — and donning a Knicks jersey.
“I jumped at the chance because I could have been booed on the Jumbotron when they saw my shirt,” DeSimone, 37, told The Post.
“But the fans were cheering like it was like the Thunder hit a 3-pointer or a layup to win the game. There was a lot of love, even after the proposal. People were walking by and saying, 'Congratulations.'
The couple, both US Postal Service employees in Oklahoma City, met in 2023, after DeSimone moved there.
Phan, 33, “had no intention of dating” DeSimone when a co-worker suggested the Oklahoma native take him along.
But on their second trip, he made his move.
“There was a booth and I sat on the same side of it,” he recalls. “She was a little shocked and said, 'Oh, I think this is a date.'
DeSimone purchased tickets to the game months before he planned to propose.
“I wanted to see the Knicks play in Oklahoma City,” he said.
“And then I just woke up one day and said, 'You know this girl is really for me.' Let me see how I can suggest the match.
Even though DeSimone requested her ring size two months ago, Phan was still shocked — especially since they weren't on their best terms that night.
“We were actually going to be very late and we were angry at each other,” she recalled.
“So I was driving fast,” DeSimone added. “She was kind of annoyed with me and wondering why I insisted on getting there.”
The groom was nervous about bringing the radioactive diamond in his pocket into the arena, muttering to himself, “Please don't explode,” as he walked through the metal detectors.
So when security stopped him, he became more nervous.
“I thought it was for the ring, but he wanted me to take my belt off.”
The proposal happened at the end of the first quarter, and after they hugged on Kiss Cam, Phan said, “It all happened so fast.”
“Then I looked at him with the ring on the jumbotron and said, 'Oh my God.' I kept telling him: “I'm going to throw up.”
“I think I just said, 'Are you going to marry me or what?'” De Simone recalled.
“Then she nodded. In the video, I'm tapping her arm because I'm telling her, 'Give me your finger.' Because I couldn't stay there for long.”
